National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

SEC-00252 West Valley Demonstration Project

Christine Corwin

Health Physicist

Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, 130th 

Meeting

Oak Ridge, Tennessee | August 21, 2019
West Valley Demonstration Project Site

 West Valley, New York

 Commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing 

plant, operated by Nuclear Fuel 

Services, Inc. (NFS)

Covered Period

 AWE: January 1, 1966 through 

December 31, 1973

 Residual Radiation: January 1, 1974 

through February 25, 1982

 DOE: February 26, 1982 through 

present
Background

 The WVDP Site Profile was completed on August 17, 2007

 SC&A completed a review of the Site Profile on December 5, 2013 

 Among the Findings were comments that the Site Profile did not 

address the adequacy and accuracy of internal dose records at the site

After additional data capture efforts and research NIOSH determined that 

for the AWE Covered Period:

1. DOE was unable to provide complete internal monitoring data for 

claimants

2. There is limited workplace monitoring and source term data with which 

to estimate potential internal exposures
Background, continued

 NIOSH initiated an 83.14 SEC petition for the 1966 through 1973 time 

period due to the lack of adequate and accurate internal dose records 

and workplace monitoring data with which to estimate dose

 The feasibility of external dose estimations were not evaluated because 

the SEC petition was based on NIOSH determining that internal radiation 

doses could not be estimated
NIOSH Proposed Class for SEC-00252

 All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked at the West Valley 

Demonstration Project in West Valley, New York, during the AWE operational 

period from January 1, 1969 through December 31, 1973

 Basis: insufficient personal and workplace monitoring data to reconstruct 

internal dose

 The early operational period from January 1, 1966 through December 31, 

1968, was not included in this evaluation because NIOSH has significantly 

more internal dosimetry data available to assess intakes for this period

 NIOSH continues to evaluate the quality and sufficiency of the 1966-1968 

data
West Valley Demonstration Project Claims

Description Totals

Total number of claims submitted for dose reconstruction as of July 

19, 2019 150

Total number of claims submitted for energy employees who worked during 

the period under evaluation (January 1, 1969 through December 31, 1973) 35

Number of dose reconstructions completed for energy employees who worked 

during the period under evaluation 33

Number of claims for which internal dosimetry records were obtained for the 

time period under evaluation 24

Number of claims for which external dosimetry records were obtained for the 

time period under evaluation 33
Site Description

 In 1962 the state of New York’s Atomic and Space Development 

Authority (ASDA) and NFS partnered to build a privately owned nuclear 

fuel reprocessing plant

 Construction of the plant began in June 1963 on land NFS leased from 

the ASDA and took 3 years to complete

 The reprocessing plant was in a 300-acre security area site bounded by 

barbed wire fence and posted as a restricted area
Site Description, continued

 The plant was arranged in the shape of a U 

with the Fuel Receiving and Storage facility 

on one end and the product removal facilities 

on the other

 Most of the areas in the process building 

were either shielded cells, operating aisles, or 

unshielded rooms

 Chemical operations were directed from the 

Control Room

 Mechanical operations were directed from 

operating aisles adjacent to viewing windows 
Project Operations

 NFS received its license to receive and store fuel on May 27, 1965

 NFS received its operating license for the reprocessing plant on April 

19, 1966

 Fuel reprocessing began on April 22, 1966

 From 1966 to 1972, the West Valley facility handled and reprocessed 

a total of 630 tons of fuel from nine different reactors during 28 

campaigns using the Plutonium Uranium Extraction (PUREX) process

 One Thorium Extraction (THOREX) process campaign took place 

between November 15, 1968 and January 20, 1969
Project Operations, continued

 Fuels processed

– Light-water reactor fuels

– Fuels from AEC-owned reactors

– A uranium-thorium fuel cycle core from the Indian Point 1 reactor

 Materials shipped

– Recovered uranium was sent to the Fernald Plant located in Ohio

– The AEC-owned plutonium was sent to Hanford located in 

Washington

– The utility-owned plutonium was retained by the utilities, sold to 

industry, or sold to NFS for later resale 
Process Summary

 Fuel receipt and storage (Fuel Receiving and Storage Facility)

– Fuel arrived in shipping casks

– Fuel was unloaded underwater and stored in a pool

 Mechanical preparation (Process Mechanical Cell)

– Shearing and sawing equipment was used to segment the fuel into 

fixed lengths

 Fuel dissolving (Chemical Process Cell)

– The fuel was dissolved in acid leaving behind the cladding and any 

structural components
Process Summary, continued-1

 Solvent extraction

– The uranium and plutonium in the dissolved fuels were separated from 

the fission products and purified

 Uranium and plutonium product concentration, storage, and loadout

– The purified products were shipped as nitrate solution

– After May 1971, plutonium solutions were sometimes also sent to the 

Plutonium Storage Facility, which was owned and operated by the state of 

New York near the West Valley site

– High-level liquid waste generated in the process was stored in 

underground tanks
Process Summary, continued-2

 In March 1972, the reprocessing plant was shut down to complete a 

series of improvements intended to increase capacity and meet new 

regulatory requirements

 Due to a new licensing process that would be required to be met, and 

more stringent requirements on plant effluents, NFS concluded that 

reprocessing no longer made economic sense

 In 1977 management of the facility was transferred to the New York State 

Energy Research and Development Authority

 In 1980 the U.S. Congress passed the West Valley Demonstration Act

 DOE assumed operational control of the site on February 26, 1982
Estimating Internal Dose

 Bioassay Data

– Urinalysis

– Fecal samples

– Whole body counts

 Workplace Monitoring Data

– Breathing zone air samples

– General area air samples

– Surface contamination surveys

 Source Term Evaluations

– Process information

– Characterizing and quantifying the source term
Internal Dose Feasibility

Bioassay Data

 DOE is unable to provide complete internal monitoring data for claimants 

for the AWE Operational Period January 1, 1969 through December 1, 

1973

– For claims with internal monitoring data, the majority of monitoring 

information was obtained from NIOSH data capture efforts, not from DOE

– Some data provided by DOE was not found during NIOSH data capture

 Neither set of data includes all bioassay data
Internal Dose Feasibility, continued

 Unable to develop a co-worker model for all radionuclides due to inadequate 

bioassay for U (1969-1973) and mixed fission products (1972-1973) 

Summary of Bioassay Analysis by Major Radionuclide and Year

Year

Total Pu

Analysis

(urine + fecal)

Total U

Analysis

(only urinalysis is available)

Total MFP

Analysis

(urine, fecal and WBC)

1966 2 0 4

1967 888 46 386

1968 595 89 250

1969 22 5 186

1970 179 1 242

1971 195 1 143

1972 177 1 50

1973 260 1 2
Internal Dose Feasibility, continued-1

Workplace Monitoring Data

 Air Sampling

– No breathing zone air sample data

– Nasal smears were relied on to assess the potential for intakes from plutonium 

and fission products and were used as indicators for the need to obtain follow-up 

bioassay

• Incident driven collection

• High action limits

• Potential for unmonitored intakes

 Air sample data from March 1970 in the General Purpose Cell Room, and 

from 1973 in the Analytical Aisle 

 Copies of logbook pages with gross alpha and gross beta results from routine 

air monitoring for 1969-1973
Internal Dose Feasibility, continued-2

Contamination Surveys

 Surface contamination levels were quite variable depending on location

– Ranging from non detectable to several million dpm/100 cm2 smearable 

gross alpha and gross beta

 No isotopic information for the contamination survey data

 Infeasible to determine occupancy locations and times for workers

– Site-specific and claimant-specific data is insufficient to characterize 

employee movements across the site
Internal Dose Feasibility, continued-3

Source Term Data

 Known information

– Process and source descriptions

– Identities and quantities of radionuclides of concern

– Processes through which radiation exposures may have occurred

 Unknown information

– The available documentation does not indicate any definite boundaries 

between radiological and non-radiological areas for the period being 

evaluated

– Occupancy locations and times for workers
Summary of SEC-00252

 There is insufficient internal bioassay data and accurate workplace 

monitoring data to reconstruct internal dose from uranium and mixed 

fission products from January 1, 1969 through December 31, 1973

 NIOSH intends to use any internal monitoring data that is available for an 

individual claim to conduct partial dose reconstructions for individuals 

not part of the SEC

 The early operational period from January 1, 1966 through December 

31, 1968, was not included in this evaluation because NIOSH has 

significantly more internal dosimetry data available to assess intakes for 

this period. NIOSH is continuing to evaluate the quality and sufficiency 

of the 1966 through 1968 data
Feasibility Findings for SEC-00252 January 1, 

1969 to December 31, 1973

Source of Exposure Dose Reconstruction Feasible

Internal No

Uranium No

Mixed Fission Products NO